


darling, dearest, dead

by unknxwn



Series: an angel and a devil (or something like that) [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknxwn/pseuds/unknxwn





	darling, dearest, dead

**you love him, you do.**

she got the call from rhodey just after midday, a few days after her birthday.

"he's gone pepper. kidnapped. the convoy was attacked. no one survived but one. she said they took him. didn't know who, didn't know why. i'm so sorry pepper."

"it's not your fault." was all she managed choked out, before hanging up.

she fell to the floor and broke down.

_fuck you tony. i love you. you've been there, whether you've known it or not._

she threw her head back and screamed. tears streamed down her face.

**and here's the miracle; he loves you too.**

being repeatedly dunked into freezing cold water wasn't fun.

suddenly he heard a feminine voice calling out to him.

"tony!" it yelled.

_pepper. pepper i'm right here, help me!!_

he spent the rest of the day thinking about why he heard pepper calling him.

"that's it. i love her. i love pepper potts" he stated out loud.

"who's that?" yinsen asked, looking over at tony, puzzled.

"o-oh no one." tony hastily replied.

**you are allowed to have him**

"with you it's like dog years. i mean its like the presidency-"

she was cut off by his lips slamming into hers. she froze for a second, then kissed back. the feel of his lips on hers. she knew she loved him. he knew he loved her.

they broke apart.

"weird." he looked at her, smirking slightly.

her hand lay on his chest. "no tony it's not weird."

they leaned in again.

**you love each other, you do**

"i think i can think of something better than that" she said, a smile playing at her lips.

she leant in to kiss him

"we need time" he murmured against her lips.

she pulled back, smiling, and walked back into the conference room, tony close behind.

she started talking about some prototype project that tony hadn't even started the blueprints for. at the moment, it was just an idea.

"i'm sorry to interrupt, but it's important." tony spoke.

he turned to look at the redhead he loved so much.

"virginia potts. you're one of the few people who've stuck with me through all my shit. you've always been there. i can be a right dick, i've pushed you away when you were just trying to help." he looked at her.

"i'm forever grateful for that. pep, honey, love of my life, light of my life. i love you so much. will you marry me?" he asked, slowly dropping down to one knee and holding out the simple ring.

she held a hand over her mouth, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"god yes. of course i'll marry you, anthony edward stark." she answered, so full of emotion.

he stood up and slipped the ring on her finger.

**and here's the tragedy; it's not enough**

she stood, watching the tv screen worried out of her mind. tony stark had a nuclear bomb in his hands and was disposing of it in space.

she didn't see or hear her phone ringing. what could be the last thing she hears from the man she loved, and she missed it.

he was falling. so damn fast. without any signs of slowing down. the cameras cut off.

pepper let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in, only for it to be replaced by a silent sob.

she looked at her phone. a miss call, from the man who was most likely dead.

"tell the pilot to land at the nearest airport. i don't care what one." pepper commanded, trying to sound strong.

three hours later, she saw him. alive. bruised and beat up, but alive. she ran to him and touched him all over.

"you're alive. you're really alive." she whispered.

"i'm alive pep." he confirmed.

**you're not allowed to save him**

_"and i... am... iron man."_

*snap*

rhodey saw him stumbling to a corner and flew over, pepper and peter right behind him.

peter ran forward.

"we won mr stark. you did it. we won mr stark you did it tony" pepper gently pulled peter away and into rhodey's arms.

"friday?" pepper questioned, although she already knew the answer.

"life functions critical."

pepper placed her hand over the nhers.

"hey pep." it was barely audible. it contained everything he couldn't say. the _i love you_ and _i'm sorry_. it took all of pepper's strength not to break down right there.

she kept her head held high, contained her emotions. "we're gonna be ok. you can rest now." she said with a smile.

the reactor flickered and then went out. tony's head rolled back a bit, his hand that was over hers falling to his side.

she kissed his cheek, muttering a tiny "goodbye" before breaking down.

in the end, it wasn't enough. she couldn't stop him, couldn't save him.

_darling, dearest,_ ** _ dead_ **


End file.
